Dragon has a brand new 1:72 scale kit of the Panther Ausf.D Early Production, and modelers are certainly in for a treat with it! The plastic kit is an almost completely new tooling. In fact, the only item carried over from the Ausf.G released recently is the DS tracks! The upper hull is made as a single piece thanks to the clever use of slide molds. The lower hull tub has been formed the same way, thus ensuring a stable and accurate foundation for the rest of the build. All the appropriate characteristics of an Ausf.D variant are present. This Panther is full of delightful details…enough to have 1:72 scale model-makers purring with pleasure.

While it’s the impressive Tiger I tank that usually attracts the most attention, it was the Panther that in the long run was a more important tank to Germany during WWII. This approximately 45-tonne medium tank represented a good balance of well-sloped armor protection, lethal firepower and able cross-country mobility, the design being inspired by the highly successful Russian T-34. Beginning in December 1942, a total of 842 Ausf.D examples were manufactured through to September 1943, at which time it was superceded by the improved Ausf.A. Its combat debut occurred during Operation Zitadelle in the titanic Battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front, and the Sd.Kfz.171 Panther fought bravely until the dying days of the Third Reich. Its 7.5cm KwK 42 L/70 cannon took a heavy toll on enemy armored vehicles whenever and wherever they were encountered. The Ausf.D is easily identified by the letterbox hatch opening for the glacis machine gun, pistol ports on the turret sides and a drum cupola.